From Bush to Obama: The Transition from 43 to 44

On Monday, President-elect Barack Obama ventured to the White House to look over what is to become his place in the Oval Office. There, awaiting him, was the current resident of the estate and leader of the free world, President George W. Bush. How awkward it must have been? While many Americans have been through the process of buying/selling a home, this transition appears a complete deviation from vacating your residence for the last eight years. This appears to be more of an ousting instead.

As the 43rd president's term comes to an end, the look of the landscape that he has attempted to establish for his nation are about to be suddenly overhauled. Many changes are at hand. Many of the policies he has promoted will go by the wayside and although George W. Bush's approval rating has spiraled downward out of control recently, there is still merit to some of his policies and ones that Obama should consider carrying over to his presidency. Some of Bush's other policies should plan to meet him on the curb come January 20th, 2009, the date that President-elect Obama and Vice President-elect Joseph Biden take their oaths for office.

The first policy of President Bush's policy that his successor should consider is his Comprehensive Immigration Reform policy. According to whitehouse.gov, President Bush was quoted on January 28, 2008, as saying: "America needs to secure our borders -- and with your help, my administration is taking steps to do so. We're increasing worksite enforcement, deploying fences and advanced technologies to stop illegal crossings. We've effectively ended the policy of "catch and release" at the border, and by the end of this year, we will have doubled the number of border patrol agents. Yet we also need to acknowledge that we will never fully secure our border until we create a lawful way for foreign workers to come here and support our economy. This will take pressure off the border and allow law enforcement to concentrate on those who mean us harm. We must also find a sensible and humane way to deal with people here illegally. Illegal immigration is complicated, but it can be resolved. And it must be resolved in a way that upholds both our laws and our highest ideals."

This has long been an issue for Americans. Americans have been forced to see many of jobs turned over to a labor force that isn't even ours. Too many business owners have taken advantage of this reduced income workforce in an effort to line their own pockets. With a unemployment rate currently standing at 6.5%, it would be nice if we were giving our own these opportunities first. Furthermore, this policy steers us in the direction of our own national security. Too many illegal aliens, illegal narcotics and various other unwanted "imports" currently get through into this country as it is but at least President Bush's initiative propelled us in the right direction. This is an area where I President-elect Obama can grasp onto and carry over into his own administration and see the idea through to its success. We need to be safe and it starts with securing our country's borders. Safety should always be the first priority of any president.

The other policy that should be carried over to the upcoming Obama administration should be the support given to our veterans. President Bush has seen that the Depart of Veteran Affairs has seen a substantial increase in funding. In the years that Bush has been President, the amount budgeted for Veteran Affairs has nearly doubled. In many cases, the debt of gratitude due to our nation's servicemen and woman has been substantially under appreciated. It would be a credit to President-elect Obama to see that this policy continues on.

Amongst the policies that Obama should do everything he can to reverse the current trend would be regarding the economy. Currently America is in the biggest crisis of buyer confidence that has been seen in years. From a spectators standpoint, to see the concern emitted from the banks themselves incite a great deal of unrest for the rest of Americans. Our situation is not an easy one to fix. Obama's promise of restoration will be not be an easy one to fulfill. His decisions could upset a lot of people in the beginning or he may just upset the wrong people. Hopefully, by appointing a tactician such as Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, it will help to alleviate some of the backlash that is potentially bound to ensue. Surround yourself with strong people and often times your job becomes that much easier.

The other policy that Obama should overturn is Bush's policy regarding the environment. It is simply flat-footed. Everything revolves around concerns for the waterways and completely steers clear of everything else. We need stricter sanctions on pollution. We need heightened awareness for protecting many of our resources. We need to focus on preserving our landscape and our National parks. Bush never seemed to place much emphasis in regards to environment. His presidency revolved around securing our fuel from the Middle East. He spent far too much time reducing our greatest resource which is and always has been Americans themselves. The task is not an easy one for President-elect Obama but I supposed that is why we elected him. Only history will show if he was the best man for the job. I wish him well.